India Sachin Tendulkar appears to have destiny on his side. Ninety-nine international hundreds already, one more required to reach an unprecedented milestone in the game. If he gets there today, he will also reclaim his place as the leading runscorer in the tournament. Even if he doesn’t, and India lose, it has still been another remarkable tournament for a man many thought was in terminal decline a couple of years ago. Tendulkar already has 2,175 World Cup runs in total, well ahead of the next-highest tally, Ricky Ponting’s 1,743. It is hard to imagine anyone ever beating that.

Pakistan Shahid Afridi may have been born somewhere on the other side of the Khyber Pass, but he plays for Karachi — and his whole attitude mirrors the bustling, restless mood of Pakistan’s most populous city. Like his predecessor Imran Khan, Afridi is a Pathan — a descendent of the warlike hill tribes who hail from the Hindu Kush. Could he now follow Imran by lifting the World Cup? His own bowling — which leads the tournament with 21 scalps — has been a huge factor in Pakistan’s success. But one fancies they will need his batting today as well, and so far he hasn’t passed 20.

India Munaf Patel has decent enough figures in this tournament but every time he comes on, bowling that plodding medium pace, you think someone is going to plant a big front foot and swing him into the crowd. Surely there must be a better second seam bowler, out of a billion Indians, to support the excellent Zaheer Khan.

Pakistan It has to be Kamran Akmal, a master of the art of coarse wicketkeeping. During his match-losing performance against New Zealand, the commentator Ian Chappell pointed out that Akmal could bat like Bradman and still not recoup the number of runs he costs the team through his shambolic glovework.

WATCH OUT FOR…

When India bowl Zaheer’s reverse swing: unusually, he can use it just as well on a length ball as a yorker.

When Pakistan bowl Saeed Ajmal’s doosra is difficult to pick, even for an Indian batting line-up who play spin as well as anyone.